The present application relates generally to hand-held kitchen knife sharpeners and, more particularly, to a hand-held., retractable, pull-through type knife sharpener.
Kitchen knives require periodic maintenance to ensure that the knife edge remains sharp to promote more productive cutting. It is known that a knife edge can be sharpened by repetitively pulling the knife blade through a knife sharpener consisting of a slot with at least two sharpening members made of a hardened material, such as ceramic, and angled relative to each other to form a V-shaped groove through which the knife edge is designed to pass. By maintaining an appropriate angle between the sharpening members, simultaneous sharpening of both sides of the knife edge is facilitated with minimal effort when the knife is pulled therebetween. However, there exists a need to maintain and protect the sharpening members during nonuse and storage.